G3 Studios' Guido Henkel recently sent us an email about a Kickstarter under way to fund Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore. The party-based fantasy role playing game draws inspiration from classic computer role playing games of the past and features turn-based combat, six races, eight classes, over 34 unique character traits, a variety of environment to explore, hordes of monsters to battle, complex puzzles, and an adaptive storyline. Henkel is known for his work as co-creator of the Realms of Arkania series and producer of Planescape: Torment.

Spearheaded by Guido Henkel, co-creator of the original “Realms of Arkania” series and producer of “Planescape: Torment,” “Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore” is a party-based computer role-playing game with turn-based combat that hearkens back to the Golden Era of fantasy cRPGs, supported by a team that was instrumental in crafting many other classic RPGs.

Is This Project For You?

If your heart sings at the memory of classic computer role-playing games, such as “Realms of Arkania,” “Wizardry” or the “Might & Magic” series, this project is for you!

If you have never experienced the excitement of these games, well, this project is for you, too, because we are prepared to build a role-playing game that will captivate you, challenge you and surprise you all the way to the end.

The Deathfire Vision

“Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore” is a party-based computer role-playing game with turn-based combat that hearkens back to the Golden Era of fantasy cRPGs. Built upon the power of the Unity 3D engine, “Deathfire” utilizes a first person view that gives the player the feeling of being there. A solid role-playing engine that utilizes over forty visible character attributes, along with countless invisible ones to track behavior. They make up the heartbeat of the game, and allow us to analyze and adjust gameplay on the fly, and react to the player’s actions, shaping the story around these actions and decisions.

Character interaction is another key ingredient in “Deathfire: Ruins of Nethermore,” as the player will encounter many denizens of the game world and will be able to recruit numerous ones to follow along as non-player characters in the party. Ripe with personality, opinions, phobias and their own little peccadillos, these characters will enrich the game and create unique gameplay twists—as well as many memorable moments, for sure. (Don’t forget to share them with us, when they occur…)

With a variety of large outdoor and indoor environments, the game will offer a rich game setting with party-based gameplay and turn-based combat that allows for tactically infused battles.

Doesn’t that sound like the game you’ve always want to play? Well, it sure is the game we want to play, and that’s why we started building it, and have been working on it for the past eight months.

Just to give you a quick overview of the key specs, here is the game for you in a nutshell

Single player, first person Party-based play (four player-, plus two non-player characters)

Six races and eight classes to choose from

Over 34 unique character traits, plus base attributes

Party characters interact with each other

Turn-based combat

Indoor and outdoor environments

Complex puzzles and evolving quests

Combine items to build weapons and traps

Interactive game world

Recipe-based crafting and enchanting

Involving, adaptive storyline with many key players and twists

Factions for intriguing political set-ups

Tons of monsters to battle

Dialogues—yes, you will be in awe at our cool and intelligent dialogue system

Cheese toast (This is an inside joke for those of you who have played the “Realms of Arkania” trilogy. If you have not, do not worry, “Deathfire” will give you the opportunity to become a member in the ranks of those initiated in the joke.)

RPGWatch recently posted a new review of Spiderweb Software's Avadon 2: The Corruption. The indie role-playing adventure returns players to the Black Fortress where they will have to decide whether to aid the beleaguered Avadon or assist those attempting to destroy it.

From the review:

When a great RPG comes together, for me, it starts with an engrossing story. The story in Avadon 2: The Corruption is one of political intrigue and war. The Pact, the ruling body of the land, is seemingly crumbling around you, and it's up to the military power of Avadon to try and defend it. It sounds simple enough, but there are many delicate layers underneath the surface. Avadon itself has recently been attacked, and some question how powerful the once-almighty Avadon really is. Some also question Avadon having ultimate power to do what they want, with sometimes questionable means, which leads to many varied opinions on how they operate. Meanwhile, the rebels fighting the Pact are getting bolder, and something stirs behind the scenes that threatens the land even worse than the war. You start as a scout for the Pact, and things slowly start to unravel, bringing in themes of corruption, politics and decision making for what you believe is the good of the world. However, each decision has consequences, and people are affected by what you are trying to do.

ZeniMax Online Studios recenlty posted the results of a new "Ask Us Anything" Q&A answering fan questions about the upcoming MMO adaptation of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls universe. The developer answered questions on a variety of topics related to The Elder Scrolls Online, including encouraging good multiplayer behavior, details about how lock picking works in the game, and information about guilds.

I've played many multi-player games, and 99% of them are eventually plagued with the same enjoyment-killing problem. What is this problem? Kill-stealing. You know, jerks who like to go into areas where people are farming or trying to level and kill-steal them relentlessly. Does ESO have a plan to implement something to prevent this? – Emily

Fighting the enemies of your alliance—NPCs as well as PCs—should be something every aspiring hero jumps at the opportunity to do. We don’t intend to limit helpful behavior in Tamriel by lowering the experience or loot you can take away from a hard-fought victory. If you help someone kill an enemy he is already engaged with, all you can do is take away some of the pride he might have felt by winning the fight on his own. He’ll still receive the full amount of experience and loot. If you did enough damage (or provided enough support), you might get some experience and loot of your own, too. And if the two of you decide to group together, both of you will get even more…

Thermal Erosion's Fields of War is now available for purchase and download at Mac Game Store. The massively multiplayer third person shooter focusing on large scale mech battles features 100 vs. 100 battles, five distinct mech classes to play with, and cross platform multiplayer action.

Fields of War is a massive multiplayer third-person-shooter focused on large scale battles, territory control, skill and most importantly team play.

The players are divided into two factions, North and South, coming from different climates and landscapes, and fight over control of the entire land.

Pahelika: Revelations HD from IronCode Gaming is now available for purchase and download at Mac Game Store. The casual adventure game draws inspiration from the classic Myst and puts players in the role of Sudesh, a novice adventurer who finds his dreams turned to nightmares when he returns home for some rest and relaxation.

The game lets the player adventure as Sudesh Budkoti, intrepid adventurer and current holder of the magic book, Pahelika. Explore the game world in first person, taking in the beautiful sights, solving puzzles and turning with care into the gloomy corners and the dark corridors. Realistic graphics give the game a unique aesthetic.

After 'acquiring' the magic book Pahelika, Sudesh returns to his ancestral home for a spell of rest and peace. Almost immediately, he starts having nightmares and is unable to sleep at night. One such night he revisits the store room in his home. A surprising discovery follows!

Stepping into his shoes, you explore the game world in first person, taking in the beautiful sights, solving puzzles and turning with care into the gloomy corners and the dark corridors. Realistic graphics give the game a unique aesthetic that fits in well with the gameplay. The art is well complemented by an excellent background score. All this combined makes the game very immersive, something often noted in the reviews.

Rather than hand hold you through a fairy tale story, Pahelika: Revelations plants you in its fantasy universe and leaves you to your own devices. You can take the easy way out by using the hint button, or you can put your thinking cap on and tough it out - entirely up to you.

The gameplay of Pahelika: Revelations is similar to the venerable Myst, being based upon exploration and puzzle solving. While exploring the world of Pahelika: Revelations, eventually the player will come up against obstacles or puzzles. To get past the obstacles, the player will have to piece together clues from his/her environment. The clues may come from observation, logic, or by simply talking to other individuals.

South Wales indie developer Wales Interactive recently announced the release of Master Reboot for Mac and Windows PCs. Described as a first person psychological adventure horror game, Master Reboot features both action and puzzle elements spanning 34 unique environments. The game takes place in the distant future in the Soul Cloud, "a giant server that holds the data of your soul and memories when you die."

Imagine a world where death is no longer final, where precious memories are saved to enjoy forever, where your soul is immortal, welcome to the Soul Cloud. Upload your soul to our dedicated servers and relax knowing that a part of you will live on, for eternity. That favourite holiday, happy moments from your childhood, meeting that special someone for the first time. All these memories saved for your digital soul and your family to revisit again and again. The Soul Cloud - saving your past to secure your future.

Master Reboot is a first person psychological adventure horror game set inside the Soul Cloud. It's an exploration game with action and puzzle elements set across 34 unique environments. In the not too distant future they have created the Soul Cloud, a giant server that holds the data of your soul and memories when you die. The Soul Cloud is filled with floating islands, each island looks like a town; village or city filled with rooms, skyscrapers and houses that hold people’s memories. To house your Soul, a family member (or yourself before you die) purchases an island on the Soul Cloud where the server will generate rooms, houses or skyscrapers that hold each and every memory from the deceased’s past, or of memories of their choosing.

The game features a unique visual style, atmospheric soundtrack, intriguing story-line and slick adventure game action. Get prepared for upload......Where am I?.....Who am I?......Its time to piece your life......and death back together.

The Role of the PlayerWhen you begin the game your identity is unknown. You are simply a digital representation of who you once were when you were alive, transferred into an endless network of people’s memories called the Soul Cloud. Beginning your transfer into your new digital existence is simple: you sit on a monorail transporting you to your new home, a place where you can live out all your favorite memories for all time. But something is different… a feeling of anxiety comes over you and something strange happens, causing you to black out. Waking up on a deserted beach without any knowledge of who you are or where you are, you bring yourself to your feet. Looking around you, everything you used to know has seemingly been wiped from your memory. Why did this happen? Did someone do this on purpose? If so, was it meant for you or someone else?

It's up to you to piece your memories together to find out all these answers by solving the puzzles in each memory from your past that are housed in there own rooms. However, this won’t be an easy task as not only are these puzzles very difficult, but you are also pursued by the Soul Cloud’s anti-virus who believes that you are the cause of all these 'problems' in the network. Every puzzle solved unlocks a memory which reveals more about your life when you were alive: a walk on a beach, visiting loved ones now lost from your life and confronting demons who have manipulated your career and very existence. Once you have pieced together all your memories the games narrative and game play will lead you to a dramatic climax which brings the answers you are looking for but also questions the very nature of life and your creations coming back to haunt you.

Neocore Games has announced the release of the Van Helsing I: Complete Pack which features the first part of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Action RPG trilogy along with all the latest additions and updates to the game. The Complete Pack brings the game to Mac users and also includes three unique classes, PvP and co-op multiplayer modes, PC controller support, and new endgame content.

Christmas is coming early this year with the Van Helsing I: Complete Pack, a complete version of the first part in The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing series. The pack includes the base game and everything that has been introduced to the gameplay since the launch of the original. After paying close attention to the requests of the community, this package comes with three unique classes, PVP and co-op multiplayer mode, new netcode, PC controller support, monster respawn system, and the long awaited endgame content. In An Open Letter to our Fellow Hunters we explain the changes the game has gone through since its release and talk about the newly introduced features of the pack.

"With The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing we wanted to leave the doors open for community feedback since the first stages of development." said Zoltán "Pozs" Pozsonyi, producer of the game. "Thanks to our community we could improve the game in every possible way and we definitely count on their help in the future too."

The Van Helsing I: Complete Pack key features:

Three playable classes – To embark on this gothic-noir adventure, players can choose from three very different classes: the classic Hunter with shooting and melee skills, the magic-wielding Thaumaturge, or the Arcane Mechanic, the master of deadly devices.

Detailed level-up system – Players are able to spend points on hit points, mana, damage, and much more as they traverse through skill trees to mold Van Helsing to their liking.

Hunter’s Lair – A central hub for players to stash collected loot, trade with non-playable characters, accept new quests from allies who join the resistance against the scientific scourge, teleport between locations, forge new items, and utilize the alchemy lab.

Tower-defense mini-game – When the Hunter’s Lair is attacked by enemies, players have the opportunity to defend their HQ with deployable traps and several upgradable functions to ward off evil.

Rage system – Enabling players to have up to three active skill modifiers called PowerUps, players have the ability to charge their PowerUps by way of spending Rage points collected from impressive feats.

Unique companion system – Lady Katarina, a ghost with snappy wit, comes to the support of Van Helsing with her own set of abilities, behaviors, and two skill trees.

Multiplayer – Allowing players to test their skills against each other via the PVP mode (16 players) or join their forces and complete the story in the co-operative campaign (4 players).

Endgame content – Based on the community’s demands, the complete pack now includes various scenario levels, the Neverending Story, and respawning monsters.

Plug In Digital's Last Knight is now available for pre-order at Mac Game Store. The game is a fusion of platforming, action-packed riding, and ragdoll physics driven jousting set in a randomly generated world. In story mode players control a squire hoping to prove himself by saving the kingdom, while other modes allow you to explore never ending worlds filled with riches and dangers.

Last Knight is a unique genre mix that combines platforming, action-packed riding and ragdoll physics driven jousting! It is fast-paced action in a never ending randomly generated Unreal Engine powered fantasy world!

The story mode put it's player in control of a squire on its way of becoming a knight. But before he can prove himself, events of epic proportions make him the last hope for the kingdom! On his heroic adventure he will have to fight the horned bucket heads and oversized hungry creatures. He will have to get through a wide range of dangerous environments as well as his own Knightmares.

But beside the story there is much more. Various game modes let you adventure through always different never ending generated worlds filled with riches and dangers. On your journeys you will also find quests that will take each of the characters on different missions in the hunt for fame and glory as well as gold and chivalry. Gold can be spent on fancy power ups, while chivalry can unlock world bending mutators and different view modes like the intense first person view. Cutting-edge features like a fully dynamic randomized weather system and a collision system that can alter basically everything of the world geometry make this game even more over the top.